04-25-2010, 08:45 AM
A 4.0 earthquake occured near Alice Texas about 9:30 p.m Saturday April 24th.No damage has been reported.
TEXAS EQ HISTORY
EARTHQUAKES. Between 1847 and 1994 there were more than 110 recorded earthquakes of magnitude three or greater in Texas. No Texas earthquake has exceeded a magnitude of 6.0, and most have been fairly small and caused little or no damage. Damage has occurred in at least twenty-five of the recorded earthquakes, however, and one death has been attributed to a Texas quake. Almost all of the earthquakes in Texas have been caused by one of two sources. The major source is relief of tectonic stress along fault lines. These are most common in the Rio Grande rift belt, the Panhandle, the Ouachita Belt, and the Coastal Plain. Small earthquakes have also been attributed to well injections associated with oil and gas field operations and occur in areas near large oil and gas fields. The first known earthquake in Texas occurred in Seguin and New Braunfels on February 13, 1847. The largest earthquake in Texas occurred on August 16, 1931, near Valentine in Jeff Davis County; it measured about 6.0 on the Richter Scale. Many of the other West Texas earthquakes have occurred in El Paso, including the only Texas quake associated with a death; on March 7, 1923, in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a few kilometers from the quake's epicenter, an adobe house collapsed and suffocated the man inside. Some of the larger earthquakes in the Panhandle include the 1917, 1925, and 1936 Panhandle and Borger quakes and the 1948 Dalhart quake. No earthquake in the Panhandle has exceeded a magnitude of 5.0. Earthquakes in East and Central Texas have been fairly small. Some notable ones have occurred at Manor (1873), Paige (1887), Creedmore (1902), Mexia-Wortham (1932), and Trout Switch (1934). Other significant earthquakes have occurred in Wellborn (1857), Hempstead (1910), and Anderson (1914) in the Southeast and in Rusk (1891), Center (1981), and Jacksonville (1981) in the Northeast. In April 1993 an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 that took place in Atascosa County damaged homes and a gas pipeline. On April 14, 1995, the second largest earthquake in Texas struck West Texas near Alpine.
more......http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/onlin.../yde1.html
TEXAS EQ HISTORY
EARTHQUAKES. Between 1847 and 1994 there were more than 110 recorded earthquakes of magnitude three or greater in Texas. No Texas earthquake has exceeded a magnitude of 6.0, and most have been fairly small and caused little or no damage. Damage has occurred in at least twenty-five of the recorded earthquakes, however, and one death has been attributed to a Texas quake. Almost all of the earthquakes in Texas have been caused by one of two sources. The major source is relief of tectonic stress along fault lines. These are most common in the Rio Grande rift belt, the Panhandle, the Ouachita Belt, and the Coastal Plain. Small earthquakes have also been attributed to well injections associated with oil and gas field operations and occur in areas near large oil and gas fields. The first known earthquake in Texas occurred in Seguin and New Braunfels on February 13, 1847. The largest earthquake in Texas occurred on August 16, 1931, near Valentine in Jeff Davis County; it measured about 6.0 on the Richter Scale. Many of the other West Texas earthquakes have occurred in El Paso, including the only Texas quake associated with a death; on March 7, 1923, in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, a few kilometers from the quake's epicenter, an adobe house collapsed and suffocated the man inside. Some of the larger earthquakes in the Panhandle include the 1917, 1925, and 1936 Panhandle and Borger quakes and the 1948 Dalhart quake. No earthquake in the Panhandle has exceeded a magnitude of 5.0. Earthquakes in East and Central Texas have been fairly small. Some notable ones have occurred at Manor (1873), Paige (1887), Creedmore (1902), Mexia-Wortham (1932), and Trout Switch (1934). Other significant earthquakes have occurred in Wellborn (1857), Hempstead (1910), and Anderson (1914) in the Southeast and in Rusk (1891), Center (1981), and Jacksonville (1981) in the Northeast. In April 1993 an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 that took place in Atascosa County damaged homes and a gas pipeline. On April 14, 1995, the second largest earthquake in Texas struck West Texas near Alpine.
more......http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/onlin.../yde1.html